1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an oven and more particularly to an oven ventilation system that reduces the condensation produced.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known oven designs include single ovens, double ovens, and combination ovens that have a conventional oven and a microwave oven. The ovens can be used for roasting food items, including turkeys, chickens, or other high moisture foods. The hot, moist air generated during the roasting of such foods must be dissipated by some sort of ventilation system. Ventilation systems are provided in most ovens for venting some hot air from the oven and to remove moisture when cooking such a high moisture load. However, it is unacceptable to have a large amount of the moisture vented out of the oven because of condensation that could occur on the front of the oven or on the cabinetry surrounding the oven.
Additionally, most ovens include a broiler. Broilers are typically used for cooking such items as steaks and other meats at high temperatures. However, when cooking a steak or the like in the broiler, a large amount of smoke can develop because of the fat in the steak and the high temperatures at which the meat is being cooked. It is obviously undesirable for the ventilation or exhaust system of the oven to pump smoke out of the oven and into the kitchen. Thus, a ventilation system for an oven needs to meet certain design and performance requirements.
There are two important items in the evacuation of air from an oven. One is the volumetric exit velocity of the air from the oven cavity. If the air is evacuated too quickly from the oven cavity, this can negatively affect the cooking performance and oven preheat time. If the evacuation of the air is too slow, the after the completion of a closed door broil, when the user opens the door of the oven, a large smoke cloud could pour forth from the oven and enter the kitchen. Thus, a ventilation system must be designed to handle the dissipation of the smoke cloud to prevent the kitchen from being polluted with smoky air.
The second item in the design of the oven ventilation system is the exhaust air temperature. If the temperature of the exhaust air is too hot then there is a potential of burning the user or damaging kitchen cabinets that surround the oven. Also, an exhaust temperature that is too high may have a negative impact of the efficiency of the oven. For instance, this condition would draw off too much heat that should be used for cooking. Also if the exhaust air temperature is too low, then there is a condensation of the cooking by-products and steam as the exhaust exits the oven. This situation can cause damage to the surrounding cabinets and possibly violate various safety requirements.